Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Grambsch, Fortnum, Essex, Fox, Ristow, Anderson, Sossong, Clintsman, Klimpke, Roe
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/09/2015
Grambsch, Clyde Raymond (11 July 1917 - 4 July 2015)
Clyde R. Grambsch, 97, of Loyal went to Heaven Saturday, July 4, 2015, at Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield.
Clyde Raymond Grambsch was born July 11, 1917, in Marshfield, to Benjamin S. and Lucy M. (Fortnum) Grambsch. He was raised and educated in Loyal, graduating from Loyal High School in 1935. A true entrepreneur, Clyde started a paper route at age 8 and was Loyal’s very first paperboy. From then on he was rarely without a job, including a long stint as a soda jerk at Wepfer’s Drug Store during high school, he attended UW-Madison for one semester before transferring to UW-Stevens Point for two and a half years. June 1, 1940, he married his high school sweetheart, Eva Elizabeth Essex, at the Loyal Methodist Church. Eva went to Heaven Feb. 17, 1987. Clyde later met Audrey Y. (Fox) Ristow and married her Oct. 17, 1987, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Amherst.
Throughout his long and storied life, Clyde never stopped pursuing the American dream. His can-do attitude led him into the business world where he started, bought and sold numerous businesses, including a bicycle repair shop, an appliance store, the Loyal Funeral Home, a furniture store and a gas business. All these ventures led him to his true passion, and in 1957 he started a camper business. EZ Kamper invented and manufactured one of the first modern pop-up camping trailers in the USA. That led him to his final company, Camper & Recreation, which he started with his son in 1973. C&R carries on Clyde’s legacy today, replacing canvases on campers around the world. His impact on the RV industry was so profound that in 2001 he was inducted into the National Association of RV Manufacturers Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. His original prototype, EZ Kamper, is on display in their museum for the world to see.
Clyde was a lifelong member of the Loyal United Methodist Church and a member of the Loyal Rotary Club. He served as a cub master, was chairman of the Clark County Republican party and was a respected leader in his community.
He is survived by his second wife, Audrey, of Loyal; his children: Carmella (Charles) Anderson of St. Louis Park, MN, Clyde Robert (Susan) Grambsch of Loyal, and Mary (Jim) Sossong of Neillsville; 15 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren; and many relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Eva; his daughter, Connie, and son-in-law, Dale Clintsman; three brothers: Lyle Grambsch, Russell Grambsch and Clark Grambsch (in infancy); and one sister, Ruby Grambsch.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday July 8, 2015, at the Loyal United Methodist Church in Loyal. Reverend Patsy Roe will be officiating. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. with burial in the Loyal City Cemetery prior to the service at 1 p.m. Pallbearers will be his grandsons: David Clintsman, Sr., Steven Anderson, Benjamin Grambsch, Joshua Grambsch, Matthew Grambsch, Nathan Grambsch, Christopher Klimpke and Nicholas Klimpke.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions be made to Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse Organization at www.samaritanspurse.org.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.cuddiefh.com . Cuddie Funeral Home of Loyal assisted the family with arrangements.
